According to a report presented at the conference by Dr. Nguyen Huy Nga, General Director of the Vietnam Health and Environment Agency under the Ministry of Health, nearly 42 tonnes of hazardous medical waste, 11.8% of the country's total waste production, and 120,000 m3 of medical waste water is produced in Vietnam every day. The amount of medical waste is expected to double by 2015 but current treatment methods for medical waste are insufficient and the technology is out of date and ineffective.

In addition to other efforts to deal with this pressing issue, the Ministry of Health has launched a US$155 million project, funded in part by a US$150 million loan from the World Bank, to support the treatment of hospital waste throughout the country.

“Vietnam can learn practical lessons in using bio-technology to dispose of medical waste, based on the experiences France presented at the conference. We should also be able to find appropriate, well-priced solutions for medical waste treatment,” said Deputy Minister Tien.

It is anticipated that the conference, which showcased advanced micro-organisms now being used for waste treatment and highlighted solutions that are relevant for Vietnam, will pave the way for the country to study and select appropriate solutions for managing its medical waste.

“Through applying modern technology, Vietnam can promote its experiences and practices in traditional biological degradation of organic matter to master the environmentally friendly solutions of micro-organism treatments,” said Bernard Vedry, scientific advisor at APB Environment, a French company with a long-standing presence in the bio-technology market.

The conference was co-organised by the French Embassy in Vietnam, the French Trade Commission UBIFRANCE Vietnam, and APB Environment.